Life Experience of Application of Euthanasia - Essay Example

Proponents of euthanasia believe that the church and state have no right to interfere with a person’s right to die. Opponents believe the opposite that no one but God has the authority to determine when a person is to die. However, according to my personal life experience, euthanasia should be allowed to be performed on patients with chronic pain associated with incurable illnesses.

In 2008, my cousin was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was treated in different hospitals to no avail. One day I went to visit him in the last hospital he was admitted to. He was languishing in pain. He told me that he was suffering in pain and that he opted for euthanasia citing that he was suffering in pain while there was no cure for his disease. I convinced him to abandon his mission and encouraged him to take heart. At least I would not have assented to his proposal. I was not prepared to live with the guilt of siding with his idea of terminating his life. One month later, he insisted on the same, but his parents and relatives were against the idea. However, at some point, I felt like siding with him upon seeing how much he had suffered. He later died the following month.

Going by the utilitarian ethical theory, the choice that yields the greatest benefit to the majority is the ethically correct choice: the welfare of the majority is more important than that of an individual (Cavan, 2000). For those that choose euthanasia, although, the patient will have taken his own life contrary to the to believe of many that life is precious and should be preserved at all costs, he will on the other hand have saved the remaining wealth he has, terminates the illness pain, and above all saved his family and loved ones of the agony of grieve. In this way, his family will be left with some wealth that they still need even after his death. If the patient opted to continue lying on the hospital bed probably for another eight months, his wealth would have finished, and eventually die due to lack of medication leaving his family in poverty.

Even if, euthanasia is highly condemned by many, especially Christians, I believe that if it is looked at based on its facts and reality it holds, will always be helpful to many patients. However, the decision to carry out euthanasia lies on the patient depending on their moral values and their illness situation. My cousin had suffered for a long time before he died. Since the disease is known not to be curable, it would have been better if he was euthanized to reduce the burden of the heavy hospital bill that he left for his family. The psychological and emotional stress he and his family underwent would have been evaded if he was euthanized.